Page 43 of We May Be Fractured

“Actually, it was my idea to join the protest,” he said, trying to ease the tension.

Landon’s eyes flicked to Aaron, sparking with an intensity that almost pulverised him on the spot.

“Lanny, it was all for you,” Nyle admitted.

“You’re mistaking me for someone who needs help. Even worse, revenge. For me, that chapter’s closed.”

“Ian was all alone, but you have us ,” Nyle persisted. “We’re your family; we’re here for you.”

“It’s too late,” Landon said quietly before disappearing outside again.

Nyle and Luzanne shared looks of sadness and disbelief.

Aaron wondered how Landon could just brush it all off like that? Without thinking, he followed him out and barged into the summer house after him.

“I didn’t ask you to come in,” Landon said coldly.

“I couldn’t care less.”

In a flash, Landon grabbed Aaron by the collar and pinned him against the wall. “You’re playing with fire,” he warned.

“I’ve been burned before. Doesn’t scare me,” Aaron replied defiantly, holding up his scarred hands.

Landon’s eyes darted between Aaron’s hands and face. “You’re really something, aren’t you?” His grip on Aaron’s collar tightened as if he was about to chuck him out. But then Landon dropped his head in the crook of Aaron’s neck, resting it there.

He wasn’t pushing him away; he was holding him in place.

They stayed like that, wrapped up in a silent hug. Aaron hovered his hands near Landon’s waist, unsure whether to pull him closer.

In the end, Landon broke the tension. He leaned in and kissed Aaron slowly, desperately. The kiss did little to calm the storm inside Aaron.

“If you ever want to talk,” he said, “I’m here.”

“I don’t want to talk. And I definitely don’t need you or Nyle or Ria playing the heroes.”

“I already told you it was my idea.”

“When are you going to stop with the lies?” Landon stroked his thumb over Aaron’s cheek. “Still, I guess I should thank you for looking out for Nyle.”

“Don’t get used to it. I did try to tell him it was a bad idea, but you know Nyle…”

Landon grumbled in annoyance.

“I also told him you should be the one to decide what to do.”

“I don’t want to do anything.”

“Why not?” Aaron couldn’t hide his frustration.

“Because it’s pointless.” Landon slumped, resigned, onto the futon and drew his knees up to his chest. He stared blankly at his socks.

Exasperation bubbled up inside Aaron as he watched Landon giving up so easily. He couldn’t understand why Landon wouldn’t fight back when Aaron was ready to go to war for him. His little adventure with Nyle felt trivial compared to what he really wanted to do.

Still leaning against the door, Aaron observed Landon in silence. After a while, he sat next to him on the futon, leaving space between them.

“Don’t you think he should pay for what he did to you, to Ian…and God knows who else?” Aaron said, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

Landon didn’t respond. He kept staring at his candy-cane patterned socks.

“Landon…”

“You’re wasting your time,” Landon snapped, turning to face Aaron, his eyes burning with bitterness. “You can’t save me from something that’s not even a threat anymore.”

Aaron wasn’t buying it. “Now who’s lying to themselves?”

In response, Landon yanked up his jumper sleeve, revealing his tattooed arm. He grabbed Aaron’s hand and pressed a finger against one of the scars under the ink.

“See? Just like I said,” Landon insisted. “This doesn’t hurt anymore. You think it does because that’s how you want to see it, but nothing can touch me now. You can’t break what’s already broken.”

Aaron jerked his hand away as if he’d touched something electrified. “You can’t let him keep controlling you. By staying quiet, you’re letting him win.”

“You sound like Ian now. Can’t you see? It’s all for nothing.”

“What are you afraid of? Or is it shame? It should be him feeling that, not you. Don’t let him keep living it up while you suffer in silence.”

“Revenge is a mug’s game.”

“It’s not about revenge. It’s about justice.”

“Justice?” Landon let out a hollow laugh, as jarring as the notes from the decrepit piano in the haunted house. “Justice doesn’t exist for people like me .”

“People like you ?”

“Foster kid, criminal, ex-convict, gay, Black… Take your pick. There’s plenty of choice.”

“But that’s not fair,” Aaron argued. “He needs to face the consequences for what he’s done. You need to testify against him.”

Landon shook his head. “It wouldn’t change a thing.

I’m almost ten years too late. Plus, the ones with the money and the status always come out on top.

David’s the white, respected solicitor with the perfect family, living in Chelsea.

My testimony, in all likelihood, wouldn’t even be believed.

Trust me, I know a thing or two about this. ”

That hit Aaron. “Wait, you once said…something about people being too thick to see the truth even when it’s right in front of them. You told someone about it, didn’t you?”

“That’s the thing about you. You pay attention to what I say.

” Landon shot him a look, half annoyed, half impressed.

“Yeah, I told my foster mum and the guy who managed my foster placements. Both didn’t believe me.

Said I was a nobody looking for a quick quid. After that, I figured I was on my own.”

“But it’s different now,” Aaron insisted. “I believe you. We all do. And after what happened to Ian, maybe there’s a shot. You could find others, team up, and—”

“Stop. Just…stop. You don’t get it, do you? Your whole privileged white lens is blinding you.”

“Don’t pull the race card on me. I’ve had no privileges, you know that.”

“I don’t know shit about you, Aaron Walsh, do I? You’re always lying, always planning to run away.”

“And aren’t you running from your own problems right now?”

“It’s not the same.”

“I think it is,” Aaron shot back. “You’re just avoiding dealing with it.”

“There’s nothing to deal with.”

“I bet your therapist would say otherwise.”

“And what about yours?” Landon said sarcastically. “Oh, right, you don’t have one because you don’t have any issues.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

Their words hung heavy in the air, creating a palpable tension. Despite sitting so close, they might as well have been time zones apart.

Aaron softened his tone slightly. “Before, you were on your own. But now, you have Nyle, Luzanne, Ria…me.”

“I don’t need you,” Landon said flatly.

“I know,” Aaron replied, his voice hardening. “But I’m here for you.”

“Until when?”

His question caught Aaron off-guard. “Until when…what?”

“How long are you going to stay ?”

“I, um…”

Landon rose swiftly, towering over Aaron. “You’re a hypocrite. You say I should face up to things, but you’re avoiding your own problems. Can’t even deal with your aunt.”

“I told you; it’s for the best,” Aaron replied, standing to match Landon’s height.

“Right, running away is always the easy option.”

“I’m not running. I’m keeping a promise.”

“Excuses,” Landon scoffed, folding his arms. “You’re so used to finding reasons to leave, you’ve forgotten to look for reasons to stay.”

Aaron gaped, unable to retort.

“If going to Australia is really what you want, then, go and never come back. But if you’re doing all this just to please a ghost, maybe you’re not the one to give me advice about dealing with my trauma when you’re still haunted by your own.”

Aaron struggled for breath. The truth was a concept much harder to swallow than a lie.

“Maybe you should go back home,” Landon said, opening the door.

“I don’t have a home.”

“Minus three. Game over, Aaron.”

Aaron remembered the first time Landon mentioned that strange countdown. He’d asked back then what it meant to lose all his ‘lives’. Now, the answer was painfully clear to him.

“So, is this it? We’re done?” he asked, barely above a whisper.

“There was never an ‘us’. It’s always been you and the ghost of your sister.”

With that, Landon pushed him out and slammed the door.

Despite the finality of the gesture, Aaron told himself Landon hadn’t pushed him away. Instead, he, Aaron, would be taking charge, closing a chapter. Landon had only been a detour. Aaron’s real destination, his true purpose, was still out there, waiting for him halfway across the world.